From Relief to Reconstruction
Japan Multicultural Relief Fund • 3rd Annual Newsletter 2013

PHOTO COURTESY OF PACHARA YAMAZAKI

Dear Supporters,
It’s hard to believe another year has passed and it’s beennearly three years since the Great East Japan Earthquake
and Tsunami. News of the effects of radiation spillage
is continuing to come from Fukushima, but this hasn’t
prevented the people of the region from rising up andrebuilding their home.
The creation of a supportive multicultural community in the Tohoku
region couldn’t have been accomplished without your generous
donations to the Japan Multicultural Relief Fund (JMRF). Going strong
in its third year, we have developed several vital, exciting services: anational multi-lingual crisis hotline service; a program to train bilingual
hotline counselors and their Japanese allies; established a network of
local support groups to facilitate follow-up visits to survivors living in
isolated rural regions of Tohoku; and strategized to provide community building skills for and by minority
women survivors of domestic violence and of the disaster. JMRF plays
a crucial role in patching up a community in the aftermath of disaster—butwhat makes us truly stand out is ourcommitment to the kind of long-termchange that will ensure a diverse andinclusive community for residents of
the Tohoku region.

PHOTO COURTESY OF AMELIA SASAKI

Inside2Laying the Foundation for Diverse
Communities: Immigrant Women Help to
Shape Japan’s Future

The next step for us is to continue
leading projects for and by minority
women in Japan for their independence and empowerment. We arecommitted to focusing on counselor
PHOTO COURTESY OF
training as well as developing educaTHE DATA CENTER
tional materials to raise awareness andunderstanding about marginalized communities in Japan.

3

Knitting Communities Together: Sansa CaféContinues Making Minami Sanriku a Home for All

We are grateful for your annual support. As you’ll see in thepages of this newsletter, every contribution has made a meaningful difference in the lives of these very courageous on-theground individuals.

4

From Tragedy To Hope

Please renew your tax-deductible gift today this holiday season.

6

Fukushima, the New Caste with an
Old Familiar History

Thank you for choosing JMRF for your giving.
Happy holidays!

6

How Can I Help You Today: Voices of Our
Multi-lingual Hotline Clients

In community,

7

2012 Annual Report

Miho Kim
Zainichi Korean and Co-Representative of JMRF,
Member, Eclipse Rising
Japan Multicultural Relief Fund • 3rd Annual Newsletter 2013 • relief.jprn.org • 1

Laying the Foundation for Diverse
Communities: Immigrant Women
Help to Shape Japan’s Future

PHOTO COURTESY OF AMELIA SASAKISpecial Interview

PHOTO COURTESY OF PACHARA YAMAZAKI

JMRF is honored to introduce to you two women with whom we partner
in organizing projects by and for non-Japanese women survivors of thedisaster in Tohoku. Pachara Yamazaki, a survivor of domestic violence,
manages a multi-lingual hotline group staffed by immigrant women, called
WAELAA WAAREE, it means “time of gentle river stream” in Thai. Amelia
Sasaki has been a Miyagi community leader for three decades. After the
Tohoku earthquakes, she led the community recovery in Minami Sanriku,
organizing Filipina women.

Pachara Yamazaki
Founder of WAELAA WAAREE
JMRF: What’s your motivation, and how did
you get involved in hotline counseling?
Pachara: As a domestic violence survivor, I
knew fellow migrant women are vulnerable
to sexual and domestic violence. When I joined
the government pilot hotline program in 2011,
I found the highest numbers of calls were fromThai women married to Japanese. As a Thai
woman, I felt responsible for those women’ssafety and survival, and their fundamental
right to pursue happiness. I know government
services for foreign residents aren’t widely
known due to language and cultural barriers,
so I wanted to connect people who need help
with the resources created for them.
JMRF: What are the realities faced by
non-Japanese women in disaster-stricken
areas? Tell us what you’ve found throughyour hotline services.
Pachara: At shelters and temporary housing
they often face sexual harassment and violence by Japanese men who view non-Japanese women useless beyond their sexuality. They harassed women, trying to force
them into sex, and there were said to becases of rape. These female survivors had

no choice but to remain in the housing
because they’d lost everything in the disaster. These incidents have been kept hidden
amid Japan’s national recovery efforts, asJapanese nationalism overrides and denies
voices of marginalized people.

gained financial and legal independence
through social welfare services and job training. They’ve also worked in various social
welfare services.

JMRF: Are there any trends or common circumstances among those seeking help?

Pachara: I first thought I was helping ourclients, but I realized that we were helping eachother. If our client’s situation improves, thepeople around her will have better lives. I appreciate this cycle of mutual support; it’s why
our work is so important.

Pachara: The majority of the women who call
us are homemakers in their 30s and 40s
married to Japanese men, and many of them
are facing multiple, interconnected issues. A
typical story is a non-Japanese woman suffering domestic violence. She wants a divorce,but needs to endure the violence to renew
her visa in order to stay in Japan and raise her
children. We also have many cases involving
women who were forcefully brought to Japanthrough sex trafficking.
JMRF: What is the background of WAELAA
WAAREE counselors?
Pachara: The majority of our twenty registered counselors are bilingual non-Japanesewomen who have experienced sexual or domestic violence but managed to survive, and2 • Japan Multicultural Relief Fund • 3rd Annual Newsletter 2013 • relief.jprn.org

JMRF: What is the most rewarding experience?

JMRF: What’s your next step? What would you
like to tell Americans?
Pachara: In order to become skillful and knowledgeable counselors, we want to do morecounselor training. Because the government
budget is likely to run out, WAELAA WAAREE
and other groups are unsure to what extent
our hotline service can continue, and we urgently need your support! Please help us
continue this important hotline service so
crucial to women’s survival!!

Knitting Communities Together: Sansa CaféContinues Making Minami Sanriku a Home for All
Since its opening in Minami-Sanriku,
Miyagi prefecture, Sansa Café has
served not only as a popular eaterywhere local survivors share delicious
hot meals but also as a space for themulti-generational and multiculturalmembers of the community torebuild their lives.
The café’s leadership team includes low-income immigrant women and single mothers,
but people of all ages come to Sansa Café
every day.
The café has become home to Sanshins
Junior, a local children’s band specialized in

the sanshin, a traditional Okinawan musicalinstrument. The band, which performs locallyand as far away as Okinawa, formed whilesurvivors still lived in evacuation housing,using Sansa Café as a studio.

by the project team. These are sold around
Japan to subsidize meal vouchers issued to
local residents in Minami Sanriku. As of June
2013, more than 2,200 meals have been provided through this campaign.

Initially, Sansa Café was run by volunteer labor
until a network among supports across Japanwas developed. A JMRF grant (made possible
with your generous support!) provided thenecessary upfront capital to stabilize its infrastructure so that the team could shift theirfocus onto the operations of the facility.

More than two years have passed since thedisaster, but the reconstruction process remains
slow, and some have left town for more viable
livelihood. Sansa Café continues to be an invaluable community center that provides hopefor the future, one meal at a time.

To support the Café, volunteers and supporters all over the country have been mobilized.
First, volunteers knit small keychains, which
are then wrapped with Sansa Café postcards

You made this wonderful development in
Minami Sanriku possible. Thank you foryour support!

Amelia Sasaki
Founder of Sampaguita
JMRF: How did you start Sampaguita?
Amelia: I came to Japan over 30 years ago tolearn Japanese and interpretation after college
in the Philippines. I ended up settling in Sizugawa, Miyagi prefecture, with my Japanesehusband and kids, where I had a hard time
being accepted by local Japanese. I saw fellow
Filipino women, also married to Japanese men
in rural Miyagi, going through the same struggles, and I felt a responsibility to help them
integrate. That’s how Sampaguita started.
JMRF: What are your current activities?
Amelia: We provide weekly Japanese lessons
and a bi-weekly computer literacy course toFilipino women, free of charge. Knowing Japanese was essential to the survival of Filipinos
when the tsunami hit: many of them were
unfamiliar with the words for “evacuate” or“hill” (there were orders given to “evacuate
uphill”) in Japanese, and subsequently two
Filipino women in my area were killed by thetsunami. Mothers need to be fluent in written
Japanese in order to communicate with theirschools and fellow community members, onbehalf of their mixed race children. Finally,language and computer skills enable Filipino
women to explore other career paths thanworking at night in the entertainment industry,
which is unfortunately one of the only options
for many Filipinas.
JMRF: What are you most proud of?
Amelia: After the Tohoku earthquake andtsunami, Filipino women gained visibility andtook assertive roles in their families and communities. Their continued, dedicated work
was ultimately recognized by the local Japanese despite deeply ingrained racial andethnic prejudices, and I can finally say they’ve
become full members of the community.

Amelia: We’re preparing to open a crafts shop.
I hope this will help us create a sustainablestructure for our community’s economic development, which I believe will lead to theempowerment of Filipinas, and cultivate morefriendship and trust with Japanese people!
We need support from everyone to continue
our on-going programs and start new ones!!

JMRF: What are the challenges?
Amelia: Money is always an issue. We have a
lot of ideas in mind, but it’s hard to gain financial support. Also, I make sure to talk to theJapanese husbands of the Filipino women—
before their wives participate in Sampaguita—
to help them understand how important it isfor Filipina wives to learn Japanese and build
community with other Filipinas. With theirfamily’s support, women are more likely tostay involved with Sampaguita.
JMRF: What’s your next step? What would you
like to tell Americans?

Interviewer
Kyung Hee Ha“I had the honorof learning how
these women leaders transformed difficult situations into great opportunities,
exposing post-3.11 Japan’s failure toaddress issues confronting marginalized
populations; and rising to bring about amore inclusive, culturally-sensitive modelof community in Tohoku and beyond!”

Japan Multicultural Relief Fund • 3rd Annual Newsletter 2013 • relief.jprn.org • 3

“They Couldn’t Understand ‘Takadai’ (Hilltop); Only
Community Support Can Help [Foreigners],”– The Chunichi Shimbun, October 17th, 2011
Many foreigners in disaster-stricken areas lost their lives because
they did not understand Japanese such as “Takadai Ni Hinan(evacuate uphill).” A seafood manufacturing company in Onagawa,Miyagi was a rare case, in that all 162 Chinese trainees at its 19
factories evacuated safely due to the efforts made by their Japanese
co-workers. The survival of non-Japanese residents depends on
the support and consciousness of their Japanese allies in the caseof an emergency.
The ongoing Fukushima nuclear accident has made many areas no-go zones.
(PHOTO COURTERSY OF TRAI)

Many shelters are closed because of government budget.
(PHOTO COURTERSY OF TRAI)

From Tragedy“Atomic Divorce: Fukushima Disaster Survivors
Suffering Marital Discord,”– The Japan Daily Press, February 25, 2013 (available at http://
japandailypress.com/atomic-divorce-fukushima-disastersurvivors-suffering-marital-discord-2524003)
Cases of discrimination against people from Fukushima are slowly
rising within Japanese society. “We are starting to see more casesof suicide, depression, alcoholism, gambling, and domestic violence across the area,” says psychologist Noriko Kubota.

“Spousal Abuse Grows in Disaster Areas—Over
60% in Fukushima Alone—Child Abuse Reaches
Historic Highs [2 years After the Earthquake],”– Jiji Press, March 10, 2013
Domestic violence (DV) and child abuse in Japan’s tsunami andnuclear disaster zone have risen dramatically, increasing over
64% in Fukushima since 2011. Wives are particularly vulnerable to
spousal violence within the confines of small temporary housing.
Child abuse cases reached a record high in 2012, with a 76% increase in Fukushima, and Miyagi reported a 42% increase inemotional abuse of children from effects of witnessing DV.

Radiation level exceeds the measureable limit with Geiger counter inFukushima. (PHOTO COURTERSY OF TRAI)

4 • Japan Multicultural Relief Fund • 3rd Annual Newsletter 2013 • relief.jprn.org

Raised public awarenessabout the ‘hidden’
realities of ongoing ethnic
discrimination in Japan!
In the regional conference on the 2nd anniversary of the Fukushima nuclear accident, JMRF
co-founder and advisor Sugok Shin reported
to an audience of 3,500, including membersof NGOs and governmental representatives,
about the underreported realities of discrimination against non-Japanese and single
mothers living in disaster-stricken areas. As a
Zainichi Korean human rights advocate, she
co-founded “Norikoe Net (We Shall Overcome
TRAI Founder/JMRF Advisor Sugok Shin leads antiNetwork)” to educate the public and organize
nuke marchers. (PHOTO COURTERSY OF TRAI)
against discrimination and hate speech. JMRF
and Norikoe Net have worked to increase
media coverage of discrimination against migrants in Japan and have raised awarenessnationally by appearing in major media. We see this as an important first step to effectively
ensure that all people in Japan have the resources to eradicate racism and prejudice.

JMRF By The Numbers

945,000
Magazine articles and reports distributed
nationwide through media outreach

To Hope

15,704

Launched Japan’s first-ever national, multi-lingual
hotline for minority survivors! Reached 600+
cases nationwide!
The JMRF supported multi-lingual hotline group WAELAA WAAREE, run by foreign-born
women has grown into a 9 language service, and has been incorporated into national
support operations. For a long time, non-Japanese women have been perceived as foreigners and denied access to support services; those who don’t speak Japanese haveeven less access. WAELAA WAAREE fills the critical gap between needs and services formany isolated, destitute women determined to find resources and community. The hotline
consulted with women over the phone in 600 cases, and assisted 72 cases with in-person
support and intervention. Many counseling groups and Japanese ally organizations
worked collaboratively to follow up difficult cases, as well as for mutual trainings. As aresult, the “Fukushima Round Table for Migrant Support” was convened nationally by theSocial Inclusion Support Center, featuring Thai women as leaders. Foreign women are nolonger mere “clients” but are becoming real contributors toward a diverse Japan.

Established Japanese-language classes by, and for, nonJapanese residents in Minami Sanriku!
The Filipina women’s group “Sampaquita,” led by Amelia Sasaki, organized Japanese-language and computer literacy classes at Sansa Café, a multi-cultural community center
dining hall established by JMRF and the Solidarity Network with Migrants Japan (SMJ) in
2012. Amelia tirelessly reaches out to the surviving family members of those women toprovide moral support and encouragement to continue attending classes. The group’s
next objective is to build a craft shop to promote economic independence for non-Japanese women in the region, and to foster mutual understanding with local Japanese.

Services provided to individuals via ourpresentations and workshops

630
Hours of work provided by
the hotline workers

600
Calls received by ourmulti-lingual hotline

400
Non-Japanese survivors interviewed
in Ishinomaki City

70
Referrals provided topartnered organizations

60
Organizations networked
by our project

40
Bilingual hotline workers trained

Japan Multicultural Relief Fund • 3rd Annual Newsletter 2013 • relief.jprn.org • 5

Fukushima, the New Castewith an Old Familiar History
understand. We need a hotline for them to gethelp in their own languages.
Single Mothers Blame Themselves

PHOTO COURTESY OF TRAI

I’ve been going to Fukushima, Miyagi
and Iwate prefectures for two years
because 90,000 foreign nationals
were living there on 3.11. Twenty-threewere confirmed dead; I wanted toknow what happened to the others.
“Resilient victims who keep trying” on TV:
I’ve never met them. Nuclear accidents
destroy bodies, spirits, dignity, everythingelse. It’s often hard to connect, as survivors
don’t know whom to talk to. If they mention
radiation in Fukushima, they’re attacked,
ignored or excluded.
Suppressed Emotions And Violence
Parents and children suppress their emotions,but they end up expressed toward womenand other children, with increased domestic
violence. A woman in temporary housing
asked me to tell the Ministry not to raise cigarette prices: “Only when my husband smokesoutside, does he not hit me.”
Foreign-Born Wives
Non-Japanese wives called me from the exclusion zone during 3.11, saying, “There’s noJapanese here;” they didn’t know the Japanesewords, “Genpatsu (nuclear power plant)” or“Takadai Ni Hinan (evacuate uphill)” and they
were left behind. Many women from the Philippines, Thailand, South Korea, China andVietnam married Japanese men in the threeprefectures; but with no multi-lingual support.
For two years they tried to speak to me inJapanese, but when I ask, “What really happened? How do you feel now?” they suddenly speak their native tongue, which I don’t

Japanese media’s narrative of fathers andmothers in “normative families” helping children recover from trauma of earthquake,tsunami and nuclear disaster made single
mothers feel it’s their fault their children havedifficulties. They blame themselves for nothaving a “normative family,” not providing fortheir children. Many worked 2 or 3 part-timejobs, without benefits, to meet basic needs.
Now there are fewer jobs, and they suffer evenmore. Their debts grow ever faster.
Discrimination
After 3.11, foreign-based insurance firms
refused to sell cancer insurance to Fukushimans because of their high risk. Hotels refused
to rent to Fukushimans because other guests
feared them. At an evacuation shelter, cars
were destroyed. At schools, children werebullied, told their bodies were radioactive, andwere contaminating others. This caused
mental disturbance for many children. Many
feel divided, their “life” left behind, for futuresuncertain of relief, in hell although they evacuated from the radiation.
Fukushima is the new “Buraku (an outcaste
group at the bottom of Japanese society). ”
Discrimination against Fukushima means that
discrimination against the 2nd and 3rd generation survivors of the atomic bombs in Nagasaki and Hiroshima. 3.11 caused similar environmental pollution and victimization ofvulnerable people to those atomic bombs. We
must build a society where people work together against the nuclear industry, without
discrimination against those who suffer, who
are vulnerable. This is our way to see justicein life.
Sugok Shin
Co-Founder of Trans-Pacific Research Action
Institute (TRAI), and Advisor to the Japan Multicultural Relief Fund (JMRF)
From Sugok Shin’s Speech at the “Bye Bye Genpatsu(Nuclear Power Plant) 3.9 Kyoto.” Translated by:
Eclipse Rising and JPRN Volunteers, available at
http://youtu.be/LiWATq6Djho

6 • Japan Multicultural Relief Fund • 3rd Annual Newsletter 2013 • relief.jprn.org

How Can I Help
You Today: Voicesof Our Multi-lingual
Hotline Clients(All names have been changed toprotect privacy)
Min-Jee, Married, Zainichi Korean, 40’s
After the tsunami destroyed her house andkilled her father, Min-Jee had to care for her
mother with dementia and her depressed
sister while living in a shelter. She traveled
four hours roundtrip every day to bringthem supplies. The psychological traumaof discrimination Zainichi face every day
often makes them afraid to seek government assistance; counselors in the disasterarea don’t understand discrimination experienced by non-Japanese, so are unable
to provide proper support. Her mental
health was compromised, but through the
Iwate Teachers Union she was able toarrange shelter, transportation, and minority counseling for her mother. Her situation
is improving, and she’s still receiving help.
Dakila, Single Mother, Filipino, 30’s
Dakila, a divorced domestic violence survivor, was irregularly employed before 3.11.
She wasn’t able to leave her workplace
during the disaster, and her child was left
alone in the exclusion zone and sufferedserious radiation exposure, for which she
blamed herself. Her mental health suffered.
She abandoned Fukushima, but returned
when villagers wanted her back. Her childbecame depressed and stopped studying,saying “My life is over.” Trans-Pacific andAction Institute (TRAI) guided her to Filipino events and churches, who introduced
her to volunteers from the Fukushima International Association. She attended theirstudy meetings, and with their support wasable to find new employment.

2012 Annual Report
2012 Financial Statements

2012 Donors

Statement of Financial Activities (Unaudited)Year Ended December 31, 2012

Foundations

Total Revenue

62,970.00

Total Expenses

75,671.53

Revenue
Total Revenue

62,970.00

Expenses
Grants made to Japan(Multi-lingual Hotline Project)

46,121.75

Salaries and benefits

15,806.70

Insurance

3,704.80

Accounting and legal fees

1,099.40

Professional fees and services

3,905.00

Telephone, Email

1,440.00

Office supplies, printing and postage

2,526.79

Equipment

560.25

Bank Services

70.00

Misc.

436.84

Total Expenses

Mother Jones Fund of the Peace Development Fund
Unitarian Universalist Service Committee
Individuals
Anonymous Donor (1)Fusako De Angelis
Irwin and Rita Blitt (WB Family Offices)
John Won
Mariko & Sango Harumi
Red & Rhea Gillen
Setsuko Miyai
Susanne K. Takehara
Tamiko Negishi Brainard
Timmy Lu
Wanda and McKinley Lofton, Jr.
In-Kind Good & Services
Ryan Gates
Yuriko Tanabe
Thanks to all the donors who make our work possible.
For a list of a supporters and donors, see relief.jprn.org

75,671.53

The JMRF was selected as a 2013 grantee by Spark, anenthusiastic group of young women and men who
invest in grassroots women’s empowerment organizations around the world:

39%

Program Expenses

61%
Grants made to Japan“The pool of applicants has been very competitive
this year. Spark members felt that your work inunder-resourced communities in Japan stoodout and was deserving of our support. Thank you
for the important work you do. We are looking
forward to supporting JMRF with a grant and pro
bono services.”— Shannon Farley, Executive Director

Japan Multicultural Relief Fund • 3rd Annual Newsletter 2013 • relief.jprn.org • 7

Japan Multicultural Relief Fund
310 8th Street Suite 305A
Oakland, CA 94607 USA(510) 891-9045
info@jprn.org
relief.jprn.org

Our Mission
The Japan Multicultural Relief Fund (JMRF) is a U.S.-based grantmaking program jointly established by Japan Pacific Resource Network(JPRN) and Eclipse Rising (ER) in March 2011 in the wake of the Great
East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami. JMRF is dedicated to the empowerment and leadership by and for vulnerable communities in thepost Tohoku disaster region towards an inclusive and multicultural
Japanese society.
Eclipse Rising (ER) is an organization of, by, and for Zainichi Koreans,or postcolonial exiles of Korean descent in Japan. ER recognizes andcelebrates the rich and unique history of Zainichi Koreans in Japan,
promotes Zainichi community development, peace, and reunificationin the Korean Peninsula, and social justice for all oppressed groups inJapan, the United States, and beyond, through transnational education,
advocacy, and solidarity.
JMRF posts news updates from community partners on its website.
Tax-deductible donations can be made online at relief.jprn.org.
For questions and inquiries, please contact
JPRN at (510) 891-9045 or info@jprn.org.
More about JPRN: jprn.org
Eclipse Rising: eclipserising.blogspot.com

JPRN Board of Directors*
Marvin Gibson, President
Red Gillen, Secretary
Yoko Regalia, Treasurer
Akane Nobusa
JMRF Advisory Board
Andrew Jolivette, Ph.D.
Angelique Gonzales
Hiroko Kikuchi
Hiroshi Kashiwagi
Janelle White, Ph.D.
Jill Nunomura, J.D.
Paul Haible
Rachel Pfeffer, Ph.D
Sugok ShinJMRF Co-Representatives
Akane Nobusa
Miho Kim
JMRF Team
Fredrick Kakinami Cloyd
Haruki Eda
Kei Fischer
Kyung Hee Ha
Miriam Bird Greenberg
Nick Thabit		
Paul Lee Donovan
Ryan Gates
Umi Hagitani
Yongna Ryo		*JMRF is a project of JPRN,
a 501(c)3 organization